Neonicotinoids_impact_bumblebee.pdf (567.12 kB)
Neonicotinoids impact bumblebee colony fitness in the field; a reanalysis of the UK’s Food & Environment Research Agency 2012 experiment
The causes of bee declines remain hotly debated, particularly the contribution of neonicotinoid insecticides. In 2013 the UK’s Food & Environment Research Agency made public a study of the impacts of exposure of bumblebee colonies to neonicotinoids. The study concluded that there was no clear relationship between colony performance and pesticide exposure, and the study was subsequently cited by the UK government in a policy paper in support of their vote against a proposed moratorium on some uses of neonicotinoids. Here I present a simple re-analysis of this data set. It demonstrates that these data in fact do show a strong negative relationship between both colony growth and queen production and the levels of neonicotinoids in the food stores collected by the bees. Indeed, this is the first study describing substantial negative impacts of neonicotinoids on colony performance of any bee species with free-flying bees in a field realistic situation where pesticide exposure is provided only as part of normal farming practices. It strongly suggests that wild bumblebee colonies in farmland can be expected to be adversely affected by exposure to neonicotinoids.
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- Published
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- Published version
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PeerJISSN
2167-8359Publisher
PeerJExternal DOI
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3Page range
1-8Article number
e854Department affiliated with
- Evolution, Behaviour and Environment Publications
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- Yes
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- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2015-06-12First Open Access (FOA) Date
2015-06-12First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2015-06-12Usage metrics
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